ECOWAS court orders Gambia to pay tortured journalist

New York, December 17, 2010--Musa Saidykhan, who was detained for three weeks in 2006 by Gambian state security agents, was tortured and must receive compensation, a West African regional court ruled on Thursday.

Saidykhan,
editor-in-chief of the now-banned private biweekly The Independent, was detained for 22 days without charge by the Gambian
National Intelligence Agency (NIA) during a brutal government crackdown
following a purported coup plot. He said
he was tortured during his detention and brought a lawsuit at the
Nigeria-based Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) demanding compensation for
illegal detention and torture.

On Thursday, a panel
of four judges ruled in his favor in a lawsuit filed by the Ghana-based press
freedom group Media Foundation of West
Africa. The court ordered
the Gambian government to pay Saidykhan damages of US$200,000. The ruling is
final without possibility of appeal, the foundation's executive director, Kwame
Karikari, told CPJ.

"We applaud this
ruling by the ECOWAS court of justice in favor of Musa Saidykhan, who is one of
many Gambian journalists who have been illegally arrested and treated like
criminals for doing their job," said Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. "It is imperative that the
international community ensures that the Gambia complies fully with this
ruling."

As a member state of
ECOWAS, the Gambia
is required to pay the damages. The court's mandate stipulates unspecified
sanctions for failure to comply, according to CPJ research.

In the court papers,
Saidykhan alleged that NIA agents administered "electric shocks on his body including his
genitals" in order to extract a self-incriminating confession of involvement in
the purported coup. NIA agents also allegedly threatened to bury him alive in a
graveyard near the detention center.

"As a result of the physical, mental, and psychological
torture inflicted on me, I am left with scars on my back, legs, arms, and a
bayonet cut on my left jaw," Saidkhan stated in his affidavit.

Saidykhan fled into exile
after his release and resettled
in the United States.
Authorities have blockedThe Independent from reopening since raiding
and sealing of its offices in 2006. The paper was known for its critical
reporting on the government.

Thursday's decision
follows a June
2008 ECOWAS ruling ordering the Gambia to release and compensate reporter
"Chief" Ebrima Manneh, who has disappeared in government custody since his July
2006 arrest by
NIA agents. Authorities have continually denying holding Manneh despite several
sightings
and have done nothing to abide by the court decision.